This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Consumers are known to use payment accounts to fund transactions at merchants for the purchase of products. In addition, merchants commonly provide virtual merchant locations through which the consumers are able to browse such products, select desired ones of the products, and ultimately purchase the selected products. Consumers are further permitted, through the virtual locations, to arrange for shipping of the purchased products from the merchants to the consumers, and in particular, to delivery addresses specified by the consumers. Thereafter, the merchants, alone or in combination with one or more couriers, ship the products to the consumers at the specified addresses.
It is also known for consumers to subscribe to services for delivery of products, at regular or irregular intervals, for example, to replenish products used within their residences. For such recurring transactions, the merchants initiate payment account transactions for the products at the specified intervals, and then ship the products themselves, or in combination with one or more couriers, to delivery addresses designated by the consumers, as described above.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.